The Thunderbolts* movie has been a critical and commercial success for Marvel Studios. Most hailed it as a straightforward return to form for the MCU. However, a new fan theory suggests there may be some trickery afoot, and one of the most notable deaths in the movie may have been faked.
The opening scenes of Thunderbolts* set up a four-way fight between Yelena Belova, John Walker, Ghost, and Taskmaster. This fight occurs inside a secret vault, containing information that could incriminate CIA Director Valentina Allegra de Fontaine. Taskmaster is seemingly killed by Ghost during this fight. However, it soon becomes apparent that the vault is a trap. Those freelancers who survived the battle were doomed to be incinerated, preventing them from testifying against their employer.
However, some theorize that Taskmaster may have lived to fight another day. Twitter user SteveRoger88499 notes, in a post reprinted below, that Taskmaster’s body seems to vanish before the fire in the vault begins in Thunderbolts*. This suggests that Antonia Dreykov may have escaped unnoticed and could return in future MCU productions.
Why Taskmaster’s Thunderbolts* death was controversial
The MCU version of Taskmaster was a controversial character even before Thunderbolts*. She was introduced in the Black Widow movie, where she was set up as an adversary of Natasha Romanov and her sister. Beyond being a gender-flipped variant of the Taskmaster from the comics, the MCU version exhibited little sense of personality. It also bothered some comic readers that this Taskmaster’s photographic reflexes came from an implanted microchip rather than natural talent and training.
Taskmaster fans hoped that Thunderbolts* might develop the character into something unique, if not closer to the snarky mercenary of the comics. Those hopes were dashed with the character’s death. Many found it wasteful to kill Taskmaster just to give Yelena Belova further angst about her life choices. However, if this theory proves true, it is entirely possible that Taskmaster could return in future MCU productions.
Thunderbolts* is now playing in movie theaters everywhere.
